The Big Bang Theory: "The Focus Attenuation"Review

We've seen plenty of Big Bang Theory episode that revolve around the guys and girls splitting up to pursue their own separate adventures. The guys' night/girls' night premise was nothing new, but the execution this week was memorable enough. Between the in--depth discussion about time travel in the Back to the Future universe and the tag-team duo of drunk Bernadette and drunk Amy, there was plenty of entertainment to be had this week.

This week started off on an interesting note, with Leonard realizing that his scientific career has kind of stalled since meeting Penny. That opened the door for a more serious examination of the Leonard/Penny relationship. Whether that would been a good angle to pursue is open for debate, but clearly the writers opted for the more humorous approach. Leonard and the gang removed all distractions and pooled their considerable collective intellect for one purpose - coming up with the next big, world-changing invention.

Part of the appeal with this plot point was how close it hit home for me. I remember a group assignment in a high school class (American History, of all things) that tasked us with coming up with an invention. Our group basically dickered around with the idea of making Futurama's Fing-Longer a reality before settling on something much simpler and more boring. The point being, I can certainly sympathize with Leonard, Sheldon, and the rest as they struggled to stay focused on their task longer than 30 seconds.

The guys had a real Three Stooges moment this week.

On one hand, I would have liked to see this plotline actually result in the invention of some goofy device. But it's hard to complain about the episode's shift toward celebrating classic '80s films like Back to the Future, Part II and Ghostbusters. The extended debate over BttF continuity was great, building and building until it reached a crescendo with Sheldon's monologue/rant about proper time travel tenses. The conflict only grew sillier as the gang switched over to Leonard's lab and resorted to duct-taping each other's arms. In the end, perhaps it was fitting that they accomplished nothing more or less than watching some great Blu-ray movies. Science-ing is overrated anyway.

The subplot featuring the girls was a little simple, but definitely amusing. Last time Penny, Bernadette, and Amy attempted a weekend trip to Vegas in Season 6's "The Love Spell Potential," they never made it past the airport. This time they actually made it to their hotel before a more mundane sort of disaster struck. It was a nice flip of the usual formula to see Bernie and Amy playing the party girl roles while Penny was stuck being the boring, nerdy one. For one thing, the former two are very colorful drunks. Bernie's already bubbly personality and squeaky voice were compounded, and Amy was allowed to come out of her shell a little. The scene where the two girls struggled to play a drunken prank on Penny was definitely a highlight of the episode.

But on a slightly more serious note, it was good to see Penny taking the mature route and actually studying instead of hitting the casino. Her search for a more respectable career has been a major focus of the last year or two of this show. And as slowly as the characters on The Big Bang Theory evolve, it's always nice to be reminded that there is growth and progress at work.

As much as "The Focus Attenuation" might have revolved around a familiar premise and a fairly limited scope, the end result was very amusing. The guys entertained as they sought any excuse to procrastinate and debated the deep implications of the Back to the Future franchise. Meanwhile, the drunken antics of Bernadette and Amy ensured that both halves of this episode delivered. Season 8 is quickly beginning to build up some comedic steam.